BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide and personal assistant, Chandranath Rath, was shot dead in what investigators suspect was a carefully planned murder. Police sources said approximately 10 rounds were fired during the attack, though the number could be higher.
Rath, who had worked closely with Adhikari for several years, came under attack on May 6 at Madhyamgram in the North 24 Parganas district. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and doctors at a private hospital later declared him dead.
According to police sources, the pattern of the crime suggests extensive planning. Investigators believe the attackers conducted a recce of the area beforehand and mapped out an escape route before carrying out the killing.
Hours after the incident, BJP leader Arjun Singh accused Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee of “orchestrating” the attack. The Trinamool Congress condemned the killing and denied the allegations. In a statement, the party said violence and political killings had no place in a democracy and demanded a court-monitored probe into the incident.
The murder has intensified tensions across West Bengal, where sporadic violence has erupted since the BJP’s sweeping Assembly election victory.
